Have you every been working on a project- a poster, a flyer, an album cover- and felt like you just couldn’t find the right font? The average person will get about 50 different fonts with the purchase of a computer and operating system- which is more than enough. Most people will recognize these well known typographic choices:

But for graphic designers, these simply won’t cut it. Which is why we have gigantic collections of fonts that could be used for every imaginable project. When we are trying to convey of sense of social responsibility mixed with a youthful enthusiasm- which font works best? When we are trying to make a logo that “looks sort of like the competition, but better” which font do we use? Ligatures? Small caps? There are millions of choices out there from small typographic foundries who sell sets for less than $50 to Large Foundries whose offerings can reach up to $2,500 euros (Like this one.)

There are also many websites offering free fonts for download, though these fonts present their own problems. First of all, you never actually know if a font is free because the creator of the font intended for it to be free, or if it was somehow circulated without his or her knowledge and using it for commercial purposes could later get you into trouble. Some sites, like Abstract fonts, have recently incorporated a tagging system for the fonts they offer, differentiating between, personal use, commercial use and distribution.

Secondly, free fonts are usually incomplete, which you don’t find out until you are trying to type a word with an accent, or use numbers or punctuation marks. That’s always a disappointing moment.

But we’ve seen a new trend emerge in the past couple of years- physical objects as type. I first noticed it a couple of years ago at a graphic design conference I attended in Mar de Plata, Argentina called TMGD. Outside the venue in a grassy field they had placed large letters lit up- TMDG.



It was like a sculpture and people were immediately drawn to them. I later saw a photo of these letters used on postcards advertising events for that weekend.

I have since seen many examples of the “font as object.”

A postcard for an art show, several campaigns (Corrado Mattresses, Imagining Mozambique) from this Italian design group, and on many of the “Do not disturb” segments on Fox television.

So next time you can’t find the perfect font, think about how you might create it yourself- from clay, wood, cloth, legos, branches, metal or whatever else you’d like. Then grab your camera and start shooting. Now you can avoid having to add any 3D effects in Photoshop and the final image will be much more original. Viva “font as object!”

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Colourtime has made the decision to become FSC certified, showing that we comply with the highest social and environmental standards on the market. The certification process is carried out by independent organizations who assess forest management and chain of custody operations against FSC standards. After a thorough review Colourtime is proud to announce that we have passed the audit and have been granted the ability to use the FSC seal certifying our commitment to maintaining an environmentally responsible business!

For more information about how Colourtime can help your next marketing campaign or financial report be a little “greener” please call us at 1.866.372.6567 to find out more about our FSC certified products.
For more information about the certification process, the strict environmental standards or where to locate manufacturers or distributors please visit www.fsc.org.

When people think of Canada the first thing that usually comes to mind is hockey- a fervor and passion that Canadians seem to share whether male or female, young or old, professional athletes or out of shape co-workers getting together once a week. But, Canada is also responsible for inventing other great sports- the most famous of which are lacrosse, bowling, basketball and ringette.

While it is said that lacrosse was originally played by tribes of Native Americans, it wasn’t until 1856 when the dentist Dr. William George Beers founded the Montreal Lacrosse Club. In 1867 he codified the rules, shortening the length of each game and reducing the number of players to twelve per team.

In early December 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a physical education professor and instructor at a YMCA Training School, sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied during the long New England winters. Nailing a peach basket to the balcony of the gym proved to be the beginning of the now immensely popular basketball.

Whether or not you already knew this, you’ll have a new opportunity to remember each time you send off a love letter or thank you note. The latest in a new series of four postage stamps designed by Toronto firm q30 feature the original equipment used in each of the sports with an outline of the court or field in the background.

Sophisticated and timeless, the stamps emphasize the sports’ beginnings, which, as q30 principal Peter Scott claims, “are indebted to the creative thinking of their Canadian inventors.”